Sunday, June 27, 2010

If you accept my estimate that there are no more than than 200 bookplate collectors in the U.S and maybe 1,500 in the entire world you can see why it is challenging to find other collectors who are interested in exchanging Judaica bookplates. It is a niche within a niche

Having said that I recently sold three different Judaica bookplates on Ebay. One went to China,one to Poland and one to Russia. There are collectors of Judaica ExLibris scattered around the globe . I hope this listing of my duplicate Judaica bookplates will reach some of themand that we can exchange duplicates.Lew Jaffe Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

The plate below has a peel off backing. It was designed by fellow collector Bernard Goldblum's son David.

The plate below was designed by H.Schwarz

George E. Sokolsky was a conservative columnist who lived in China for many years.

The plate below was designed ny James Hayes

Robert Henry Pfeiffer was a Hebrew teacher at Harvard

The plate below was engraved by J.B. Abrahams

Benno Lewinson was a New York City attorney and a trustee of City College

The plate below was designed by A. Fastove

The plate below was designed by A. Rappaport

The plate below came in many colors and sizes.This one is printed with silver ink. The scanner does not reproduce it very well.

The plate below was designed by J. Jackson

The plate below was designed by Albertine Randall Wheelan

The plate below was designed by Ismael Smith

The plate below was designed by Leonid Kuris

I have been in touch with several more artists who worked at The Antioch Bookplate Company and they in turn have referred me to some of their former colleagues. Some scans have already arrived and others are forthcoming.I hope to post something about the Antioch artists in two to three weeks.See you next Sunday.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The six bookplates shown above were designed by Rockwell Kent and sold by the Antioch Bookplate Company.

Not that long ago you could walk into almost any bookshop and buy a boxed set of Antioch bookplates.They were tasteful and inexpensive. Over the years Antioch commissioned many artists including Rockwell Kent and Lynd Ward. Those bookplates are now part of our cultural history. There are many unrecognized forgotten artists who also contributed to Antioch's inventory and I hope to write about them them as they are unearthed. Let's start with Ilene Ledere .

She designed several Antioch bookplates in the 1970's . I wrote to her inquiring about them and her fee for bookplate design. Her replies are noted below.

"I managed to locate the old art for those bookplates which were done for Antioch Press in 1973.I have since gone on to do illustration in many different venues from editorial to books and writing.One file shows concepts submitted; the other shows the original art and printed bookplate forthe one design AP finally chose. There's not much to say except that it took quite some time for me to secure the commission, many portfolio exchanges and conversations.It was a project I'd wanted to try my hand at and would love to do others ifthe opportunity presents."

In response to my question about the cost of designing a bookplate the response was as follows:

"Thanks Lew.Setting a price on a bookplate design of course depends on the variables involved. Will the design be rendered in full color, black+white? I must consider the level of detail being rendered and use of font; does the client wish to use an existing one or one that I would design to suit the illustration? An additional factor is size of the edition; would my design be required for a private or public library and would any reproduction rights beyond the bookplate itself be involved? There is also the issue of ownership of the design itself which may be negotiable and the turn-around time schedule for delivery of artwork.My agents, Sally Heflin of Heflinreps in the US and Kit Killington of Killington Arts in the UK/Europe handle my assignments and these are questions they would likely wish answered before engaging my services. Their contact information are included in the links below that you may post at your blog:************************Ilene Winn-Lederer IllustrationContact:USA: Heflinreps: (201) 944.6058UK: Killington Arts: (020) 8464 3695Portfolios:http://www.heflinreps.comhttp://www.killingtonarts.comhttp://www.winnlederer.comWeblog: http://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/New Books: http://www.pomegranate.com/a166.htmlhttp://www.winnlederer.com/zoodiacbook/default.htmBest.Ilene "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are a former Antioch bookplate artist or know of one please contact me.Thanks.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

James M. Goode has assembled one of the finest private collections of American and English bookplates I have ever seen. If you click on the link above you will see a most informative video about his collection.

If you can get to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia before July 31st. be sure to visit Three Centuries of the American Bookplate a representative exhibit of the Goode collection . It will be on view at both the Alderman and Harrison -Small Libraries. For summer hours check the following website:

On Wednesday June 16th at 5:30 P.M. Mr. Goode will also be a guest lecturer in the Clemmons library at the University of Virginia. The bookplate lecture is open to the public.

All the images in this posting are from the exhibit catalog.It is an exceptional reference tool , 24 pages with many enlarged full color reproductions and much useful information. This is a day for superlatives. You will probably never see a better bookplate exhibit catalog .

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Billiken is one of those words that tends to raise eyebrows as well as questions ... what's a Billiken?

For anyone who attended St. Louis University, a Jesuit college founded in 1818 and the oldest college west of the Mississippi, Billiken is a familiar word. Billiken is the St. Louis University's mascot and the name of its sports teams. Billiken is also the chubby, naked Buddha-like figure which enjoyed national and international popularity from 1908 to 1911. One could say that Billiken was the fad of its day. He was a good luck charm and countless products were made in his image.

After graduating from St. Louis U.,I moved with my husband from Missouri to California at the age of 22. One of the few things I brought from home was a blue felt banner with a white Billiken on it. Every time I looked at it, I felt connected to my alma mater and my hometown of St. Louis. But it wasn't until years later, when I happened upon an old Billiken plaster figurine at an auction in Maryland, that my interest in collecting Billiken memorabilia was reborn.

Soon after, I began seeking out old Billiken postcards and paper ephemera. The most common Billiken postcards show a smiling, red-haired Billiken seated in a green circle edged in gold above various upbeat sayings such as, "Grin and Begin to Win." But there are also postcards with sports-motif Billikens and even sinister looking Billikens with separated toes and pointy ears.

My favorite Billiken postcards are a series I've nicknamed "Billiken on the Beach." Most of these were originally sold at Atlantic City or Coney Island and depict various poses of Billiken in beach settings. I have four in this series, but since postcards were usually issued in sets of six, I'm still searching for two missing cards.

The Billiken craze paralleled the 1908 Presidential election and political caricature postcards in Billiken's image were issued for both candidates William Bryan and William Taft. I have the William Bryan example with Bryan's head mounted on Billiken's body and the words, "Billibryanikin - The People's Idol."

In addition to postcards from the United States, I also have a vintage Japanese postcard and one postmarked in 1910 from London, England. I've written articles about Billiken published in both Postcard Collector Magazine and The BookThinker.

In addition to postcards, other examples of paper ephemera in my Billiken collection include a cigar label, a dance card and a trade card for Singer sewing machines.